The instant invention relates to a liquid purifier which is small enough to fit in a person's pocket yet effective enough to produce drinkable water from natural sources such as swamps which contain water which is not drinkable without treatment. The heart of the idea involves a nested arrangement of parts which provides a very effective filter. A part of this filter has an innovative spiral filtration path into which filtration material is placed. This spiral filtration path forces the water to travel along a much longer path than a conventional filter occupying the same amount of space. This unique and simple design increases the contact time between the liquid and the filtration material thereby increasing filter performance. This filter is also designed so that it is capable of being rearranged to fit inside of a can inside the user's pocket.
While many devices for filtering liquid are known, none are known to the inventor which are collapsible for carrying and which utilize, among other things, a unique spiral filtration path. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 651,948 (Lawson), U.S. Pat. No. 1,674,203 (Holz), U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,154 (Scott), U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,859 (Pall), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,018 (Moser) disclose portable water purification systems which utilize a centrally located filter. However, the filtration path of the water is substantially vertical as gravity pulls the liquid through the filtration material. In addition, none of the previously referenced patents disclose a reservoir mechanism which may be used as both a drinking cup and a small saucepan. U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,444 (Renn) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,938 (Slusarczuk) disclose filtration materials but utilize only conventional vertical filtration paths. U.S. Pat. No. 2,796,989 (Kovacs) shows a filtration material arrangement, but again this arrangement utilizes only a conventional vertical filtration path. U.S. Pat. No. 341,066 (Smith) and U.S. Pat. No. 2,518,831 (Stalloch) disclose liquid filtration units with components capable of nesting within each other. However, both designs require conventional vertical filtration paths. U.S. Pat. No. 740,366 (Knight), U.S. Pat. No. 3,334,574 (Douglas), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,080 show liquid filtration units utilizing substantially linear filtration paths which deviate from the conventional vertical filtration path. Hence, none of the prior art teaches or shows the unique and simple design of the instant invention.